Canine comfort food

It seems like all the dogs in my life are currently not in the pink of health. Just before we left for our month-long trip, Brando, my longhaired mini-dachshund god-dog (yes, I’m referred to as his “Auntie Mom”) suffered from a nasty back problem and had to get an emergency operation. It was heart-wrenching seeing him at the animal hospital, crying from fear and pain. I had decided, then, to bake him some peanut butter cookies to cheer him up (if you’re a regular reader of J’s blog, you’ll realise that Brando is a bit of a canine foodie) and picked up the ingredients I needed at an organic store. But a whole bunch of things got in the way of my baking.

Now, many weeks later, our much-better-suited-to-a-temperate-climate golden retrievers have come down with a nasty case of scabs. The poor things have been shaved and now look like sad, skinny, shorn sheep. Sascha, the vainer of the two, spends her days looking mournfully at her reflection in our bedroom mirror. She also has an icky spot on her front left paw that she has been licking. So to add insult to injury, we have had to cover that one paw with a dog bootie. She is a rather strange sight to behold. Of course, being the unsympathetic parents that we are, we’ve taken to calling her “Michael Jackson”. Unfortunately, Sascha doesn’t see the humour in that. In fact, she has taken to giving me decidedly dirty looks.

With two moping dogs in my apartment and another one slowly regaining the use of his back legs upstairs, I felt that it was time to make some time to bake those peanut butter cookies. To be honest, they took very little time to make. I mixed the dough just before I went to bed, and popped the cookies in the oven the following evening. However, I was rather amused that as they baked, Chubby Hubby kept commenting on the delicious peanutty aroma that filled our apartment. He was very upset that I didn’t make him a batch with sugar in them.

These little pick-me-ups are my way of giving my favourite pooches some edible hugs while they are recovering from their various boo-boos. I hope your dogs enjoy them too!

Combine the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter and milk. Whisk until evenly combined. It should have the texture of a thick milkshake.

Add the peanut butter and milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Mix well and knead until it becomes a uniformly mixed ball of dough. Wrap tightly with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.

Working with half of the dough at a time, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a 6-7 centimetre (1/4 inch) thickness. Using a 4-centimetre wide cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Roll the dough scraps together and repeat. Continue rolling and cutting the remaining dough. As you cut the cookies, place them on a baking tray. Freeze them for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (I use the oven fan when I bake these cookies).

Place the cookies about 2 centimetres apart on a lined baking sheet. Bake them for 10 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Cool them on a rack before storing them in an airtight container.

Su-Lyn is Aun's better half and for many years, the secret Editor behind this blog known to readers simply as S. Su-Lyn is an obsessive cook and critical eater whose two favourite pastimes are spending time with her son and spending time in the kitchen. She looks forward to combining the two in the years to come.

awww, I’m so sorry to hear about your doggie’s health problems. Glad to hear that Brando is recovering nicely though.

today’s Libby’s 9th birthday and I meant to bake her some doggie cookies but have just been so busy baking human cakes. I’m going to try to make this for her next week so she can have it while we’re gone. Thanks for the recipe!

Hi GP,
Sorry, we didn’t check, so I can’t say for sure. But the other L’Ateliers we’ve been to seem to serve the same a la carte menu at lunch and dinner. It would be best that you contact the restaurant.

Dear Joanne
Natural peanut butter as in peanut butter that is only made of peanuts and has no added oils, sugar and ideally no salt.
You may find natural peanut butter at health food stores. There is also Adams Natural Peanut Butter.

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Su-Lyn is Aun's better half and for many years, the secret Editor behind this blog known to readers simply as S. Su-Lyn is an obsessive cook and critical eater whose two favourite pastimes are spending time with her son and spending time in the kitchen. She looks forward to combining the two in the years to come.

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